New Lake Country Polishing System coming soon: The "1 Pad" Finishing System.

porta said:
I have seen those pads a couple of years ago, but I guess LC never pushed them until now. I was going to order them but I forgot, maybee its time to order them now :)
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I had my first prototype of this system almost 2 years ago; I know that Lake Country put a lot of R and D into the backing plate design and the various densities of rubber used to get the best feel and performance. I will be very interested in hearing yours (as well as others) opinions.
 
Hmmmm. I am interested to see how this turns out?

When I see this I think:

1)why throw it away? what happens to it that causes it not to be able to be used again.

2) how many pads will it take for one car, or how many cars will use up one pad?

3) some people might just polish one or two panels, does it still need to be thrown away after that?

4)These pads look to be 7"-8" pads, what about the real tight small areas?

Sorry to ask all of these questions, I'm just asking myself, "what would make me choose this over my normal set up?"

(7"-8" disposable pads that you use once with only the Rotary) Vs. (6" pads that I can reuse over and over on the Rotary or FLex 3401)

I know prices aren't set just yet, but $20 for three pads that I am going to be throwing away already says, Budget $20 in the price to cover, compound, polish and refine? and that is on every single vehicle? not including how many you have to use on bigger vehicles?
 
Tru_Shine said:
Hmmmm. I am interested to see how this turns out?

When I see this I think:

1)why throw it away? what happens to it that causes it not to be able to be used again.
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Disclaimer: I have only used prototype versions of this system and have played with off and on for almost 2 years, so I am not sure how much of my experience will relate to the production versions.

The system was originally designed for OEM and bodyshop use where short pad life is the name of the game. At the OEM level for example, it is my understanding that the pads are often discarded after they become dirty and/or saturated. At the body shop level pad's can be thrown on the ground, hammered into edges and torn on body lines. The idea was to create a system, based on using less foam (the most expensive ingredient in the pad) to make it more cost effective for those who are buying pads by the 1000s and polishes by the drums.

To directly answer your question, nothing happens to the pad after a couple of uses, that make it necessary to throw it away. However I did have problems with some of them de-laminating if I soaked them too long in water. Again these where early prototypes so I am have no idea how this effects the final product.

However some of my prototypes (both earlier and later versions) have logged numerous hours and multiple cars and have never had any failure whatsoever.


2) how many pads will it take for one car, or how many cars will use up one pad?
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Probably the same number of pads you will go through normally. For example if you use 2 orange pads during your light cutting step, you will likely use two orange Pad-1 pads as well. Again they have proven far more durable then a "single use" and "toss" IME, but I would not expect them to be as durable as traditional foam polishing pads.

3) some people might just polish one or two panels, does it still need to be thrown away after that?
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Not in my experience. You can wash the pad's carefully, dry immediately and probably get multiple uses out of them. I have.
4)These pads look to be 7"-8" pads, what about the real tight small areas?
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If I presumed to know if more sizes are going to be introduced at a later date I would be a liar. I have the system in 4, 5.5, 6.5, and 7.5 inches and found (personally) the 6.5 inch pads to fit the best for me. (But I polish with 6.5 inch pads mostly on a rotary). At this point it seems you would still need a more traditional system for smaller spot work.

Sorry to ask all of these questions, I'm just asking myself, "what would make me choose this over my normal set up?"
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No need to apologize, I am sure many people have the same questions: Is this system for you? I don't know.

The system has a unique feel, and I find the pads durable enough to withstand multiple uses. But in the end this is a system designed for the disposable pad business, it just happens the unique feel of the system (smooth) and some of the benefits will also be appealing to a wider audience. Thus we are proud to carry them.

I really love the smooth feel of buffing with them, that is hard to explain unless you have done it. But with anything their is no best, just what is good for different people.

I hope that helps and please feel free to ask any questions you have on products that we do or may carry, that is one of the purposes of this forum. :D
 
Perfect reply, thanks a bunch Todd. I kinda miss understood which customer that it was *Most* aimed to such as body shops and other detail shops. We all know how most of them treat their pads and equipment. That really cleared things up. I would love to try it out! I cant wait. thanks

-Eric
 
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